El Paso Zoo Fights to Stop Illegal Ivory Trade
July 22, 2014
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EL PASO ZOO JOINS FIGHT TO STOP ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE

Children Encouraged to Take Action at Zoo on World Elephant Day

El Paso, TX (July 28, 2014) - The El Paso Zoo will honor World Elephant Day on August 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a coloring station to help the community become aware of the ongoing ivory crisis in Africa and encourage the community to get involved.

“We are asking children to color pictures of elephants that the Zoo will send to government officials as a show of public support for elephant conservation programs. They can come to the Zoo and color them here in front of Savannah and Juno’s exhibit or download them at home,” said Rick LoBello, Zoo Education Curator.

Anyone wanting to help can download the elephant coloring page on the Zoo’s website at www.elpasozoo.org/takeaction.Coloring pages can be dropped off at the El Paso Zoological Society Office or sent to the Zoo Education Office, 4001 E. Paisano Dr., El Paso, Texas 79905 on or before August 5. Guests, Zoo Campers, children attending El Paso Parks and Recreation Centers and El Paso Library Reading Programs have already started helping with this effort.

Earlier this year, the El Paso Zoo signed on with other zoos and conservation organizations to help with a major new conservation effort to help save African elephants. “96 Elephants” seeks to unite a broad based coalition of partners to coordinate and leverage their collective influence, constituencies, and resources to save African elephants from extinction. Together the coalition aims to secure U.S. legislation that will create a moratorium on ivory sales, raise funds to bolster elephant protection, and educate the public about the link between ivory consumption and elephant killing.

Every day as many as 96 African elephants are being killed for their ivory and the species in the wild could go extinct. People everywhere need to get involved to help save this magnificent animal. African elephants help to maintain savanna and rainforest habitats important to our ecosystem. They are the last surviving relatives of now extinct species of mammoths and mastodons that roamed the earth during pre-historic times.

In addition to coloring a picture of an elephant people can support this new effort by joining the herd at www.96elephants.org.

he zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Ticket booth closes at 4 p.m. Admission prices are $6 for 3–12 yrs.; $10 for 13–59 yrs.; $7.50 for 60 yrs. & older; children 2 and under are free; active military and spouse with I.D. $7.50.

About El Paso ZooLocally recognized as the Best Place to Take the Kiddos, the El Paso Zoo sits on 35 acres of fun and adventure. Bigger and better than ever, the El Paso Zoo is an expansive green space that is home to exotic animals from around the world and features family attractions such as the Foster Tree House Playground, African Star train, the Hunt Family Desert Spring water feature and Giraffe Encounters. Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the El Paso Zoo celebrates the value of animals and natural resources and creates opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature. For more information, visit elpasozoo.org. For news and exclusive content, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/elpasozoo), Twitter (www.twitter.com/elpasozoo) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/theelpasozoo).